Posted: May 9th, 2015
Module:FC099 Business Management |
Tutor: Bernardo Muñoz, Steve Jameson, Linda Eisenberg |
Report Title:CASE STUDYAirSec Ltd. |
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Marking Criteria – Marks for this report are awarded according to the following criteria:
Hints and Tips
40% and above: Pass
50% and above: Equivalent to a 2.2
60% and above: Equivalent to a 2.1
70% and above: Equivalent to a First
You will not get a second chance to improve on the mark that you are given for this assignment. Thus, if you are given a mark equivalent to 55%, that is the mark that will be entered onto your mark sheet. Similarly, if you are unfortunate and fail the assignment, that fail mark will be added to your other assessment marks to determine your overall score for the module.
AirSec Ltd
AirSec Ltd., was originally set up by three young graduate research engineers who developed the technology to combine Unmanned Aerial Vehicles UAV’s (popularly known as ‘drones’) with high technology security systems.
They succeeded to achieve this with a miniature drone equipped with high definition cameras that could use both ordinary light images and special night-viewing infra-red images. Further developments introduced real-time WiFi links to a variety of receivers, including cellular phones.
Although the product had real potential, there were two important problems in turning the technological development into a marketing success. Firstly, the three founders of the company had limited commercial expertise and, of more importance, could not raise the large amounts of finance needed to launch a new product onto the market. Fortunately, the great potential of the product was noticed by a larger company which specialised in acquiring small high-tech businesses and turning them into marketable ventures.
The three were offered a large sum of money to sell the company (along with any patents) and each were offered a seat on the new Board of Directors. They were delighted to accept.
Several years later the company has proved its potential, has many business and domestic customers in the UK and is making an acceptable level of profits.
The product:
As stated, it is a UAV (drone) equipped with camera-based security which can be used in both daylight and dark conditions. The UAV’s can be programmed to patrol the airspace around business or domestic premises. Patented software installed in the UAV’s detects movement and thermal images which then activates the equipment to focus attention on potential intruders. A warning signal is sent to the customer and can be received by mobile phones or stationary devices held on the premises by customers’ own security staff or an external security company. Real-time video images can then be accessed and the necessary action taken to protect the premises. The images can also be used by the police to detect suspects and as evidence in criminal proceedings that may be taken against intruders.
Costs:
The manufacturing cost of the UAV is around £1850 and the added technological equipment is £1550. For full security protection the company recommends one UAV for every 400 square metres of land.
Future:
The annual turnover in the UK is now several millions but the increase in turnover is beginning to slow down and the company has ambitions to enter a non-EU market. Following a suggestion at a recent meeting of the Board it was decided to investigate the export market in India. The main reasons were the fact that India has a rapidly emerging business sector, a huge internal market and there are long-standing cultural connections between the two countries.
Employees:
The company believes that the quality and drive of its workforce is essential to continued growth and success. It has now developed to employ over 120 employees and it is expecting to employ a further 50 people over the next year. Below board level, the categories of staff are managerial and administrative, research, professional engineers, software engineers, shop-floor assembly workers and miscellaneous categories (including delivery drivers, maintenance workers, cleaners, etc).
You are now required to make use of a range of topics included in the Business Management FC099 Module, including:
TASKS:
Identify the risks involved in this situation, the potential impact on the company and the actions that will be taken by the appropriate functional areas within AirSec.
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TASK 1
The company will aim to establish the market leader in the UK with advance technology security systems in 2017.
We will access the overseas business in India by 2018 and desire to break-even in that market by 2020.
We will rise the sales revenues in 5 years’ time from its 2015 base by at least 10% at the same time to decrease the costs by 5%.
Our destination is growth the average profit by 3% each years over the next 5 years.
We decide to improve the staff training by 10% yearly to become a leader of advance security technology.
We planning to recycle 80% of our waste products by 2018 for protecting the environment.
TASK 2
Company enter a market with a new product need to consider a number of elements that facilitate and survival. One of those element that companies must consider very closely is relate to the price to be charged for the product. There are numbers of the pricing strategies that a company can use. For example, penetration price is normally used when they want to gain a share of the market very quickly, so charging a low price mat have that effect. However, if there are big competitors in the market they may retaliate and set their prices even lower. Which may lead your company being unable to compete and must be forced to leave the market.
On the other hand, using penetration price may have some advantages when there are no competitor, and the product is new. So a lower price strategy may persuade potential customers to buy the product and try it out. Once the customers are willing to buy the product, the price can be increases in other to increase level of profit.
Another possible strategy is using skimming the market, which is charging a high price for the product initially. To do so, the company will need to have a very strong promotional campaign before the product is launched, which will create a demand for the product. Products incorporating new technology lend do so frequently. This is the case of new laptops and mobile phones. For example the Apple Watch which is connect to the I-phone, is being launched at very high price ranging from £350-£550. Therefore, Airsec Ltd, could do something similar with its security drones. For instants, Airces Ltd could also sales the computer which can directly control the drones and display the image from drones. another choice is to contrive an application for use on the phone make the product much easier to use for the customers.
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